Reuters: Pressure mounts on Iran to release Nobel laureate Mohammadi

The head of the Norwegian Nobel Committee said on May 2 that the life of jailed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi was now in the hands of Iranian authorities after her health "deteriorated seriously", and urged that she be released to the care of her dedicated medical team.

Mohammadi was moved from prison to hospital on May 1 after what her family-run foundation described as a "catastrophic deterioration of her health, including two episodes of complete loss of consciousness and a severe cardiac crisis," Reuters reports.

The Narges Mohammadi Foundation stated that the transfer was an "unavoidable necessity after prison doctors determined her condition could not be managed on-site."

Mohammadi, who is in her 50s, received the Nobel Peace Prize while incarcerated for her efforts to advance women's rights and abolish the death penalty in Iran. Her family said she experienced a suspected heart attack in late March.

In an update on May 2, the foundation said she remained in an unstable condition and was receiving oxygen support. It also called for her transfer to a hospital in Tehran for further tests and specialised treatment.

By Jeyhun Aghazada